Music, auction items and philanthropy all came together at WTBU Radio’s latest live show at BU Central Wednesday night.
The show, which was organized by the executive board of Boston University’s student-run radio station, featured live performances from several Boston-based bands. It also included an auction of items that ranged from WTBU shirts to dates with the station’s E-board members.
The lineup for the night included Sports Coach, alternative R&B artist Guyclaude, indie pop rockers (T-T)b and Miss Geo, an electro-pop duo.
Elise Roche, editor-in-chief of WTBU’s The BEAT Zine, said the executive board “tried to choose bands who would reach a number of different types of audiences but had a common thread — they each had an electronic aspect to their sound.”
While every band played for free, they were also playing for a cause. Half the proceeds from the event, which were earned through donations and the purchase of auction items, went to Music and Youth Initiative, an organization that provides music education to pre-teens and teens in low-income areas in Massachusetts.
Originally, all the proceeds from this year’s event were put toward the reconstruction of the WTBU studio, which burned down in a fire in March. But the E-board felt that “they could do so much more,” and decided to split the funds with Music and Youth Initiative, said WTBU General Manager Kyle Davi.
The mashup of philanthropy and music was inspired in part by a “date auction” event hosted by the station several years back, in which members of the E-board auctioned off dinner or coffee dates, Davi, a junior in the College of Communication, added.
While some of the items auctioned off this year were traditional date-style hangouts with E-board members, there was some variety in the mix, with prizes including WTBU T-shirts, sweatshirts and a pie baked by E-board members.
One item was a personalized song all about the buyer, to be written and recorded by E-board members and played on every show on WTBU for one day. The most expensive item, unsurprisingly to many members of the station, was a brunch date in the Seaport District at a restaurant of the buyer’s choosing with Davi. The date sold for $40.
In total, the event raised approximately $500, WTBU Public Relations Director Emily Frantz said.
Frantz, a COM freshman, said the auction was a great idea because it helped the station raise extra money in putting on the event, since the show was donation-based and WTBU pays to use BU’s space. It was also a “fun way to have the attendees participate,” she said.
Davi echoed this statement, saying that events like the auction and the live show “draws people” to the station.
“Live shows help us reach more of the BU community,” he said.
The artists involved in the show also said that the auction was an important way to raise money to give back, as they are all local musicians who got their start here in Boston.
“People are quick to say young folk don’t care,” said Guyclaude Lacossade, an “alt-R&B-hip-hop-soul” artist who performed at the show. “But through this, we give back.”